Today we’d like to introduce you to Walker Hammond. They and their team shared their story with us below:
How we got started depends on which band member you ask. If you ask our drummer and guitarist, Walker Hammond and Jorey Mounteer they’d say that it started back in middle school when they first formed a band together. Since then those two have never been in a band without each other.
The other members would have a different answer, however. They would say it started when one of Jorey and Walker’s bands had a last-minute cancellation. They were in a band last summer that fell apart just two weeks before a gig that Walker took as a favor to his father. With not much time and no leftover band mates, Walker asked his old friend from high school Blake Losee if he would be willing to play the gig with two weeks’ notice and bring a bassist. Blake was able to deliver and brought along Hyrum Wilson a bassist who they both knew from high school. After playing that gig the three of them (Walker Hyrum and Blake) found themselves continuing to play together and of course, Jorey joined as well. A short time later Walker met a pianist Jake Mendoza at UVU and began jamming together.
He joined the band not long after that. The final member to join came on originally as a featured vocalist for one show but became a fixture of the vocal sound for the band, JR Reagan. Once all the members had come together Walker and Jorey decided to have this group playing a group of songs that were originally written by Jorey just for him and Walker. But now with a full band, they could play them live. And from then on parade bug has been playing and writing songs together.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Getting the band together came together fairly naturally, but getting gigs was anything but smooth. We played our first show to just friends and family and had a lot of success, but when that’s all you’ve done it’s hard to get real venues to notice you. We got our first real show when we heard that Whysound in Logan had an opening for a show.
We had tried several times to reach the owner via email or Instagram but we had no success that way so we decided to have me (Walker) and Blake drive out to Logan and go to a show at Whysound and talk to the owner in person. That ended up being the trick and he talked to us for a while and gave us a show opening for a band about a month later. And since then we’ve been having consistent shows.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Walker – he is our drummer and also has written and performed some vocals on our recordings. He’s currently going to UVU for audio engineering and is the primary mixing engineer for the band’s released recordings and future recordings.
Jorey – the primary songwriter and lyricist for the band. He is the creative driving force behind the music. And plays lead guitar in our live sets.
Blake – he serves as our rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. He isn’t on any current recordings but will be on future releases as our vocalist. He is also working as a videographer and travels often around the world for the films he works on.
Hyrum – our bassist and rollerblade enthusiast. He locks in the rhythm tight and makes his living as a plumber. Brings great energy to live shows and makes sure the crowd is always involved.
Jake – a true piano virtuoso. Jake was classically trained in the piano and currently plays in 5 or more bands in the local music scene. He is talented across many genres and also has a new flavor to add to our songs.
Jr – harmony and backup vocalist but also taking the lead occasionally when needed. Known for wit and humor and is trained in choral singing. Also has provided art and logo design for the band to be used on upcoming projects
The whole band – we have a hard time defining ourselves to just one genre. If we had to we’d probably say somewhere within progressive rock, psych, a little bit of metal, and pub rock. We love making music and playing shows and we are extremely proud of what we’ve made together.
We are looking forward to the release of several new songs slated to be released in the coming months of this year and some in the early months of next year. We don’t want to be known as a band that takes themselves over seriously and we believe fun is one of the most important aspects of our music. We hope to be one of the most creative and boundary-pushing artists in the area and look forward to new releases and new shows.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
As a band, we find inspiration from a variety of stories. Since our songs are very story driven being inspired by narrative is key. History podcasts and audiobook podcasts also help inspire some of our work.
Contact Info:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7cC6N2iN7tQXIrva1T8gNR?si=mt4tdpZZRf6wZuaoiH53TA
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/paradethebug?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@paradethebug?si=C20Lkmv6F5x1T8Mp
Image Credits
Ivan Martinez
